Self-calibrated wide range LC tank voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) system with expanded frequency tuning range and method for providing same

Abstract

The present invention is a self-calibrating, dual-band, wide range LC tank Voltage Controlled Oscillator (VCO) system. The system may include a first Voltage-Controlled Oscillator (VCO) and a second Voltage-Controlled Oscillator (VCO). The system may further include a calibration engine. The calibration engine may be configured for being connectable to at least one of the first VCO or the second VCO. The calibration engine may further be configured for automatically establishing/providing a VCO fix capacitor band code setting and a gear control setting for selectively activating or inactivating the first VCO and/or the second VCO. The calibration engine may be further configured for automatically comparing a VCO control voltage of the system to an allowable control voltage range for the system and may be further configured for automatically adjusting the VCO fix capacitor band code setting and/or the gear control setting when the VCO control voltage falls outside of the allowable control voltage range.

1. A self-calibrating, dual-band, wide range LC tank Voltage-Controlled Oscillator (VCO) system, comprising:
 a first Voltage-Controlled Oscillator (VCO); 
 a second Voltage-Controlled Oscillator (VCO); 
 a calibration engine, the calibration engine configured for being connectable to at least one of the first VCO and the second VCO, the calibration engine further configured for automatically establishing and automatically providing a VCO fix capacitor band code setting and a gear control setting, the gear control setting causing the VCO system to selectively activate one of: the first VCO and the second VCO, and further causing the VCO system to selectively inactivate one of: the first VCO and the second VCO, the first VCO configured for providing a first targeted central frequency value, the second VCO configured for providing a second targeted central frequency value, the second targeted frequency value being greater than the first targeted central frequency value, wherein the calibration engine is further configured for automatically comparing a VCO control voltage of the system to a lower threshold voltage and an upper threshold voltage, the lower threshold voltage being a minimum allowable control voltage for the system, the upper threshold voltage being a maximum allowable control voltage for the system, the calibration engine being further configured for at least one of automatically adjusting the VCO fix capacitor band code setting and automatically adjusting the gear control setting when the VCO control voltage is at least one of greater than the upper threshold voltage and lower than the lower threshold voltage; 
 a first power supply regulator, the first power supply regulator configured for being connected to the first VCO and providing a supply voltage to the first VCO, the first power supply regulator further configured for being connected to the calibration engine, wherein when the first VCO is selected by the system to be inactive and the second VCO is selected by the system to be active, the first power supply regulator is powered off by the system, thereby causing the supply voltage supplied from the first power supply regulator to the first VCO to be zero volts; 
 a second power supply regulator, the second power supply regulator configured for being connected to the second VCO and providing a supply voltage to the second VCO, the second power supply regulator further configured for being connected to the calibration engine, wherein when the second VCO is selected by the system to be inactive and the first VCO is selected by the system to be active, the second power supply regulator is powered off by the system, thereby causing the supply voltage supplied from the second power supply regulator to the second VCO to be zero volts; 
 a bandgap reference circuit, the bandgap reference circuit being communicatively coupled with one of: the first power supply regulator and the second power supply regulator. 
 
     
     
       2. A system as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the first VCO is a low gear VCO, and the first targeted central frequency value provided by the first VCO is a value included in a range of values ranging from 8 Gigahertz (GHz) to 10.5 Gigahertz (GHz). 
     
     
       3. A system as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the second VCO is a high gear VCO, and the second targeted central frequency value provided by the second VCO is a value included in a range of values ranging from 10.5 Gigahertz (GHz) to 13 Gigahertz (GHz). 
     
     
       4. A system as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the calibration engine is a mixed mode VCO calibration engine. 
     
     
       5. A method for providing a self-calibrating, dual-band, wide range LC tank Voltage-Controlled Oscillator (VCO) system, said system including a first VCO and a second VCO, the method comprising:
 during chip power-on, providing a gear control setting and a VCO fix capacitor band code setting, wherein the gear control setting causes the VCO system to selectively activate one of: the first VCO and the second VCO, and further causes the VCO system to selectively inactivate one of: the first VCO and the second VCO, the first VCO configured for providing a first targeted central frequency value, the second VCO configured for providing a second targeted central frequency value, the second targeted frequency value being greater than the first targeted central frequency value, wherein when the first VCO is selected by the system to be inactive and the second VCO is selected by the system to be active, a first power supply regulator, configured for providing power to the first VCO, is powered off by the system, thereby causing the supply voltage supplied from the first power supply regulator to the first VCO to be zero volts, when the second VCO is selected by the system to be inactive and the first VCO is selected by the system to be active, a second power supply regulator, configured for providing power to the second VCO, is powered off by the system by the system, thereby causing the supply voltage supplied from the second power supply regulator to the second VCO to be zero volts; 
 comparing a VCO control voltage of the system to a minimum allowable control voltage for the system and a maximum allowable control voltage for the system; 
 receiving an input at a multiplexer, said input provided from one of: the first VCO and the second VCO; 
 providing an output from the multiplexer based on said received input; and 
 when the VCO control voltage is determined as being at least one of greater than the minimum allowable control voltage and equal to the minimum allowable control voltage and when the VCO control voltage is determined as being at least one of less than the maximum allowable control voltage and equal to the maximum allowable control voltage, saving the gear control setting and the VCO fix capacitor band code setting and providing an indication that calibration is finished. 
 
     
     
       6. A method as claimed in  claim 5 , further comprising:
 when the VCO control voltage is determined as being less than the minimum allowable control voltage, determining if the VCO fix capacitor band code setting is 000. 
 
     
     
       7. A method as claimed in  claim 6 , further comprising:
 when the VCO fix capacitor band code setting is determined as being 000, providing an indication that calibration has failed. 
 
     
     
       8. A method as claimed in  claim 6 , further comprising:
 when the VCO fix capacitor band code setting is determined as not being 000, decrementing the VCO fix capacitor band code setting; and 
 providing the decremented VCO fix capacitor band code setting. 
 
     
     
       9. A method as claimed in  claim 5 , further comprising:
 when the VCO control voltage is determined as being greater than the maximum allowable control voltage, determining if the VCO fix capacitor band code setting is 111. 
 
     
     
       10. A method as claimed in  claim 9 , further comprising:
 when the VCO fix capacitor band code setting is determined as not being 111, incrementing the VCO fix capacitor band code setting; and 
 providing the incremented VCO fix capacitor band code setting. 
 
     
     
       11. A method as claimed in  claim 9 , further comprising:
 when the VCO fix capacitor band code setting is determined as being 111, determining if the gear control setting is established at low setting. 
 
     
     
       12. A method as claimed in  claim 11 , further comprising:
 when the gear control setting is determined as not being established at low setting, providing an indication that calibration has failed. 
 
     
     
       13. A method as claimed in  claim 11 , further comprising:
 when the gear control setting is determined as being established at low setting, adjusting the gear control setting to high setting and adjusting the VCO fix capacitor band code setting to 110; and 
 providing the adjusted gear control setting and the adjusted VCO fix capacitor band code setting. 
 
     
     
       14. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing a method for providing a self-calibrating, dual-band, wide range LC tank Voltage-Controlled Oscillator (VCO) system, said system including a first VCO and a second VCO, said method comprising:
 providing a gear control setting and a VCO fix capacitor band code setting, wherein the gear control setting causes the VCO system to selectively activate one of: the first VCO and the second VCO, and further causes the VCO system to selectively inactivate one of: the first VCO and the second VCO, the first VCO configured for providing a first targeted central frequency value, the second VCO configured for providing a second targeted central frequency value, the second targeted frequency value being greater than the first targeted central frequency value, wherein when the first VCO is selected by the system to be inactive and the second VCO is selected by the system to be active, a first power supply regulator, configured for providing power to the first VCO, is powered off by the system, thereby causing the supply voltage supplied from the first power supply regulator to the first VCO to be zero volts, when the second VCO is selected by the system to be inactive and the first VCO is selected by the system to be active, a second power supply regulator, configured for providing power to the second VCO, is powered off by the system, thereby causing the supply voltage supplied from the second power supply regulator to the second VCO to be zero volts; 
 comparing a VCO control voltage of the system to a minimum allowable control voltage for the system and a maximum allowable control voltage for the system; 
 receiving an input at a multiplexer, said input provided from one of: the first VCO and the second VCO; 
 providing an output from the multiplexer based on said received input; and 
 when the VCO control voltage is determined as being at least one of greater than the minimum allowable control voltage and equal to the minimum allowable control voltage and when the VCO control voltage is determined as being at least one of less than the maximum allowable control voltage and equal to the maximum allowable control voltage, saving the gear control setting and the VCO fix capacitor band code setting and providing an indication that calibration is finished. 
 
     
     
       15. A computer-readable medium as claimed in  claim 14 , said method further comprising:
 when the VCO control voltage is determined as being less than the minimum allowable control voltage, determining if the VCO fix capacitor band code setting is 000; 
 when the VCO fix capacitor band code setting is determined as being 000, providing an indication that calibration has failed; and 
 when the VCO fix capacitor band code setting is determined as not being 000, decrementing the VCO fix capacitor band code setting and providing the decremented VCO fix capacitor band code setting. 
 
     
     
       16. A computer-readable medium as claimed in  claim 14 , said method further comprising:
 when the VCO control voltage is determined as being greater than the maximum allowable control voltage, determining if the VCO fix capacitor band code setting is 111; and 
 when the VCO fix capacitor band code setting is determined as not being 111, incrementing the VCO fix capacitor band code setting and providing the incremented VCO fix capacitor band code setting. 
 
     
     
       17. A computer-readable medium as claimed in  claim 16 , said method further comprising:
 when the VCO fix capacitor band code setting is determined as being 111, determining if the gear control setting is established at low setting. 
 
     
     
       18. A computer-readable medium as claimed in  claim 17 , said method further comprising:
 when the gear control setting is determined as not being established at low setting, providing an indication that calibration has failed. 
 
     
     
       19. A computer-readable medium as claimed in  claim 17 , said method further comprising:
 when the gear control setting is determined as being established at low setting, adjusting the gear control setting to high setting and adjusting the VCO fix capacitor band code setting to 110; and 
 providing the adjusted gear control setting and the adjusted VCO fix capacitor band code setting.